A century of poverty

Chapter 17 Injustice!

The following year, Mr. Zhang Zhenru turned eighty. He was still sharp of hearing and sight, and in excellent spirits. He was still worried about the land, so he started planting as soon as spring arrived. This was something that should be done sooner rather than later. After the Lantern Festival, he went to Tangshan alone. I just couldn't believe that anyone in Tangshan would favor him.

In Tangshan, the old man recounted the events as he had in Changli.

After the class, it was lunchtime. Chang Ziyin followed the old man closely down the street. The old man stopped and asked, "Why are you following me?" Chang Ziyin grinned slyly and said, "I'm treating you to lunch. Lawsuits are on opposite sides, but we can eat at the same table!"

"Forget it, eat your food, I don't have those teeth." The old man said, walking into a small restaurant, buying rice and a dish to eat. Chang Ziyin also bought food and sat at a table not far from the old man. After the old man finished eating and came out, he finished eating and came out as well.

After finishing his meal, the old man went to the train station to buy a ticket home. Unbeknownst to him, a man of medium height, with brisk steps, wearing a high-necked robe and a top hat, followed him at a respectful distance all the way to the train.

When he got off the bus in Luan County, the sun was still high in the sky. The old man saw that it wasn't too late and figured he could still make it home before dark. He walked silently towards home. As dusk approached, he arrived at Zhugezhuang and hurried home along the rough path beside the ditch. Just then, a man came up beside him, walking side-by-side, constantly moving closer. The old man looked at the man—a high collar, a top hat pulled low—and couldn't make out his features. The old man tried to move aside, but the man pushed in even more. There was no way to move further away. Just as the old man was about to speak, the man shoved him hard with his shoulder, knocking him into the deep ditch.

The old man immediately fainted...

At dawn the next day, the old man woke up and tried to move his arms and legs, but his hips were too painful to move. He gradually remembered that he had been knocked down from the ditch and had been ambushed. He felt like he was going to die! The only thing he could do now was to wait and call for help when people passed by during the day.

After daybreak, he heard someone above ask, "Is anyone down there? Come up!"

Upon hearing this, the old man quickly replied, "Yes, I can't go up. I fell and hurt myself, and I can't move!"

Then I heard the voice say, "Wait for me to come and save you. I'll tie a basket down with a rope, you go into the basket, and we'll pull you out. Once you're in the basket, shake the rope."

The basket was tied down, and the old man, enduring excruciating pain, climbed into it and shook the rope.

The group slowly pulled him up. Just three feet away, almost there, the old man saw clearly who was rescuing him. Wasn't this the thug? The old man was startled. How could it be him? Just as he reached the ground, the group loosened their grip, and the basket fell heavily back down. Before the old man could even get out of the basket, they pulled him up again, then let go once more, and the old man fell heavily down once more. The group then took their belongings and left.

The old man fell into a coma again, but woke up again in the evening, this time unable to move. Hearing footsteps above, he desperately shouted, "Help! Help!"

The person above replied, "Is anyone down there?"

"Yes! Please be kind and send a message to my family. I am Lao Qi from Zhangzhuangtuo Alley. I fell and got hurt. Please ask my family to come and carry me."

The man above said, "Oh, it's Uncle Liu. I'm Liu Tong from Mutaiying. Your grandson-in-law is part of our family. Wait here—I'm going to deliver a message to your family."

Liu Tong jogged all the way to Zhangzhuangtuo Alley, and shouted as he entered the gate: "Zhang Xiwang, I'm from Mutaiying, here to deliver a message to your family; your grandfather fell into the traffic ditch in Zhugezhuang and got hurt, go and carry him back quickly!" Xiwang was startled when he heard this, and ran to his third aunt's side to find the two brothers, Tongtou and Tietou, who were now seventeen or eighteen years old.

"Three people are not enough. You prepare door panels, ropes, bedding, and blankets. I'll go find someone." Hope said as she went to Beiyuanzi to find Zhang Xiaoyong. As soon as Xiaoyong heard about this, he immediately came with Hope. The four of them ran all the way to Zhugezhuang Traffic Ditch to rescue people.

Grandma Er couldn't sit still any longer. She took Xiuying to the west courtyard and waited for the children to carry Grandpa back.

When they reached the ditch, she hoped to help her grandfather up, calling out with concern, "Grandpa! Grandpa! What's wrong?"

Tie Tou said, "Brother, don't ask anymore, let's quickly carry Grandpa home!"

The journey was less than ten miles, and the four young men took turns carrying it, quickly getting them home.

Seeing this, Xiuying quickly gathered firewood to boil water, brought it up, hoping to give the old man some water to drink. Second Grandma, Third Grandma, Tongtou, Tietou, and the others washed the old man while calling out, "Father, Father... Grandpa, Grandpa..." Fourth Uncle Zhang Jingtian, anxiously pacing back and forth on the ground, leaning on his cane...

About half an hour later, the old man woke up.

He let out a sigh of relief.

"He's awake, he's awake." Everyone gathered around the old man, who slowly opened his eyes and saw his grandson, daughter-in-law, son, and all his relatives surrounding him. He understood that his family had brought him home.

"Dad, Dad—, Grandpa, Grandpa—how did you fall into the ditch? When did you fall in?" Everyone asked in turn.

After swallowing a few mouthfuls of water, the old man slowly recounted to his family how he followed Tang Shan after the incident, including their conversations, how he squeezed Tang Shan's shoulder in the Zhugezhuang ditch, how he forcefully pushed Tang Shan into the ditch, how he pretended to rescue Tang Shan the next day, how he pulled Tang Shan up, and how Tang Shan fell down. He also mentioned that the first time Tang Shan fell, Tang Shan was not seriously injured, but the next morning, Tang Shan fell twice more and Tang Shan was seriously injured.

In the morning, the gang of "Singer Hell" pulled him up. As soon as he saw "Singer Hell," he immediately remembered that it was the one who had covered him up tightly and knocked him down last night. He felt familiar with him but couldn't quite place him. This morning, upon seeing him again, he had a sudden realization. "Singer Hell" noticed this too, so he threw him down twice more, eager to kill him.

This morning he led a group of people pretending to rescue someone, but actually they just wanted to see if I had died from the fall.

The family was furious. They were so insidious and vicious. They took our land and even killed someone. They were simply lawless.

The whole family stayed by the old man's side all night without closing their eyes. Before dawn, the old man took a few breaths and closed his eyes.

He was filled with resentment; was his grandfather really going to be murdered unjustly? He knew he couldn't bring the culprit down on his own. He remembered his eldest uncle, who had long since left home; he'd heard he was now an officer. Perhaps going to his uncle could avenge his grandfather. He went to Zhang Xiaoyong's house and told him his thoughts: "Ask my eighth uncle if he has any news or address about my eldest uncle."

They went to Uncle Ba's house, where Uncle Ba told them that their eldest uncle had written to him after leaving home. Years ago, he had strolled to the train station, spent the night there, and boarded a train to Tianjin the next day. Upon arriving in Tianjin, the past few days felt like a different world; ruins were everywhere, people were homeless, businesses were unemployed, and fear permeated the air. The sudden mutiny had brought disaster to the people, making survival incredibly difficult. He, an outsider, had come here hoping to make a living, but the scene before him was disheartening. "A good horse doesn't turn back," he thought, "since I've come out, I won't go back." He steeled himself and joined the army. In the war-torn years, he relied on his wit and boldness to excel in the new army. After the Zhili clique's victory in the First Zhili-Fengtian War, he was appreciated by his battalion commander and promoted to platoon leader. He was even allowed to ride home with two soldiers to visit them. Unfortunately, he was killed in action during the Second Zhili-Fengtian War.

Later, someone asked him if he had a wife and children. When they heard he didn't, he went home and no one told you about it.

Hope was shattered; the revenge for his grandfather was still unavenged, and then he learned of the passing of another family member.

Uncle Ba said, "We sympathize with your family's plight, but there's nothing we can do to help. What can a teenager like you do? Let it go."

I hope to keep this matter to myself.

Having lost his father's care at a young age and experienced many hardships, he hoped that his grandfather would provide him with some guidance in life. When his grandfather passed away at the age of eighty, he was eighteen years old. As the eldest grandson of the Zhang family and the only son of his second grandmother, he wanted to continue the Zhang family line.